President's Column

By Chris Kuthe

“What Can I Do?”

In the last few weeks, I have heard this question often, “What can I do to help the USA right now?” Many of us are feeling the stress of being powerless while watching important programs and structures of our country being dismantled. We feel the actions we can take are small in proportion to what is happening. This makes me think of Margaret Mead’s quote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." I have never seen a more thoughtful, committed group of citizens than the LWVKA. The actions I am suggesting you take may seem small– but they are effective. Here is what you can do:

• Focus on one or two issues that mean the most to you. It is not possible for you to fix everything. Focusing on a few issues will help you be more effective.

• Stay informed on these issues and take action when appropriate. Use the League’s action alert, LWV Action Alerts, to help you make this process less stressful.

• Contact your elected officials, use the League’s tool to help you find out who your representatives are. LWV Representative Search Tool It is important to contact elected officials that agree with your views on issues and those that do not. Your representatives will use the data they collect from constituents to back up their positions.

• Attend government meetings and public protests. Speak up. Join our Observer Corps so government officials know we are watching. Contact Regena Nelson to join Observer Corps regena.fails.nelson@wmich.edu

• Attend meetings about the LWVUS Judicial Study. Details about this study are in this edition of the Voter.

• Attend the LWVKA’s Annual Meeting on Monday, May 12th. We are working on an interesting speaker. You can socialize with other like minded League members for emotional support. Details about this meeting are in this edition of the Voter.

• Get out in nature, enjoy spring! This really does help.

Please know you are not alone in your feelings and we are not alone in this fight to defend democracy. The LWVUS has been active letting federal officials know our positions. The LWVKA is working with the ACLU who have put forth five lawsuits to stop some recent actions. Let's keep doing the small things that will make a big difference.

Calendar

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April 2025

Arab American Heritage Month

National Volunteer Month

NNN5 HANDS-OFF! (Pro-Democracy) Rally Noon-2:00 pm, Large Parking Lot,

NNNN6330 S. Westnedge, Portage, 49002 Click here for more info

NNN8 Federal Judiciary Study 5:30 pm, Kalamazoo First Presbyterian Church

NNN9 Development Committee Meeting 10:00 am, Zoom (Ken Manley)

NN12 E.V.E.N.T.S. Meeting 10:30 am, Zoom (Barb Dircks/Aedín Clements)

NN16 D.C. Emancipation Day

NNNNYou’re Invited Social Hour for New Members

NNNNParkview Hills Clubhouse, 5:30pm

20-26 National Volunteer Week

NN21 Last day to register to vote online

NN22 Last day to drop your ballot in the mail 

NNNNEarth Day

NN28 LWVKA Board Meeting 6-7:30pm, Zoom (Aedin Clements/Chris Kuthe)

TBDNCalhoun County Unit Board Meeting (Kathy Knoll)

TBDNCalhoun County – Social Mixer

Final Meeting to Seek Consensus on Federal Judiciary Study

Your local federal judiciary study group is hosting an all member meeting on Tuesday, April 8, 5:30-7:30pm. at First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., Kalamazoo. Please park on the Lovell Street side.

This is such a great opportunity to be a part of League history! Your voice is important in coming to consensus on the 12 questions posed by the national league. All the League materials that the study group reviewed are on the League’s national website, lwv.org/league-management. If you have limited time, we suggest reviewing “Judicial Ethics and Enforcement,” “Shadow Docket,” “Recusal” and “Key Terms.”

We hope to see you April 8th!

Kathy Purnell and Judy Sivak, Co-Chairs

LWVMI Convention

Grand Rapids Airport Sheraton

16-18 May 2025

This year’s LWVMI Convention happens to be in Grand Rapids, an easy drive from Kalamazoo. It is an opportunity to learn, to develop relationships with other Leagues, and to vote on issues. Any LWVMI member (including members of the Calhoun unit) who is interested in attending as a delegate should contact Chris Kuthe or Aedín Clements as soon as possible.

Delegates will cover their own accommodation expenses but will have registration costs reimbursed by the League. Register for the Convention here.  

Convention information is in the password-protected members’ area of the LWVMI website, so please reach out to Aedín or Chris for access.

Annual Meeting

By Maria Gagnon-Markucki

Monday, May 12

Social: 6:30-7:00 pm

Meeting: 7:00-8:30 pm

Location: Friendship Village, Clubhouse

Refreshments: coffee, tea, treats

Following our Guest Speaker we will hold our annual business meeting, which will include approval of the proposed budget, election of board officers, and proposed bylaws changes. Watch for an email with the proposed budget, slate of candidates for the 2025-2026 Board of Directors, and the proposed bylaw changes.

Invitations will be emailed shortly.

Please RSVP to Maria Gagnon-Markucki at mariamarkucki1@gmail.com and place “Annual Meeting RSVP” in the subject line.

E.V.E.N.T.S.

By Barb Dircks



Communications was a pivotal part of the March meeting. Following the mission of Educating Voters, the committee discussed adding new materials that are needed for continuous outreach with new members as well as discussing ways to update and improve current brochures to make them more relevant and accurate. Aedín Clements will be facilitating an organizational meeting and the team of interested members will also discuss updates and improvements to The Voter. A final topic involves discussing how to spread the responsibility of social media messaging and contact. If you are interested in being a part of this communications group, contact Aedín.

Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environmental Justice Committee

By Chris Kuthe

The LWVKA is passionate about the health of our planet earth. Climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice is one of the four focus areas of our strategic plan. Currently our committee, led by Ruth Caputo, is working to have the cities of Portage and Kalamazoo use native plants in their landscape projects. This effort involves partnering with other local organizations and local native plant vendors. Our committee meets at 10:00 am on the first Friday of each month via Zoom. If the environment is a passion of yours and you would like to be a part of this committee, please contact Chris Kuthe ckuthe57@gmail.com or Aedin Clements aedinclements@gmail.com.

Voter Services Update 

By Aimée Bedard – Voter Services Chair

Happy Spring LWVKA!! I always think of it being Spring when I get to replant my topiaries and when I get my first Dairy Queen cone during their first day of Spring Free Cone Event. Welcome to new members and thank you to all who have expressed an interest in registering and educating voters. There have been some questions as to when we will start registering new voters in 2025 so I thought I should share my thoughts on what to expect.

In 2024, Michigan held a Presidential Primary and America elected a new President. We participated in over 45 Voter Registration and Education events which was a high number of activities for our league. I expect we will participate in fewer events this year as our partners are holding less events and we have fewer districts participating in May and possibly August elections. I am finding that Voter Service activities are “seasonal.” We usually begin the year partnering with KVCC on their back-to-school activities, register high school graduates in May/June, participate in community events in the summer, and register students as they return to school in late summer and September. Information on Voter Registration and Education events will be shared via League Email Blasts that contain links to sign up via our SignUpGenius registration tool. If you are receiving the Voter, you should be on our email list.

We also continue to explore new partnerships within the community. We recently were contacted by KRESA – Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service. We will be tabling at one of their events in May (watch your emails) and I had a chance to meet with members of their Head Start Team. While I believe registering new voters is important, I am seeing that holding discussions on the importance of democracy and voting will be critical going forward. More to come on this topic in the future. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or input.

April 2025

Arab American Heritage Month

National Volunteer Month

NN16 D.C. Emancipation Day

20-26 National Volunteer Week

NN22 Earth Day

LWVUS recently posted the following: “If the past 60 days have made one thing clear, it’s this: our democracy is facing a five-alarm fire…

With attacks on the rule of law and our democratic institutions staring us right in the face, it is going to take all of us—our collective voices and efforts to protect our democracy.

Watch for and respond to Action Alerts sent to League members from LWVUS! Recent Action Alerts: Urge Your Members of Congress to Stand Up for Democracy and Tell Your Members of Congress to Oppose the SAVE Act.

LWVKA Book Group

Aedín Clements

The LWVKA Book Group had great attendance (about fourteen) on Tuesday, March 18, to discuss Solito. The big issue of immigration was brought into perspective for us in this account of the young Javier Zamora’s two-month journey as an unaccompanied nine-year-old, from El Salvador to the U.S. Thanks to Lindy Rose for leading this discussion.



We look forward to getting together again on May 20th to discuss the memoir of the first Black woman ever to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. This discussion will be led by Regena Nelson. Lovely One, a Memoir, by Ketanji Brown Jackson is available in libraries and bookstores. Kazoo Books, where we meet, gives a discount to League members on purchases of our book group choices.